Sunday, 29 November 2009

Argh!! Too quick!! I have had so much fun over the last few months making Christmas Cards and decorations, but it's almost time to get them all out and sent and it still feels like it suddenly jumped up from nowhere!! Mind you. I'm better prepared for it this year than I have been in the past!

Our theme at Winter Wonderland this week is to stamp a candle, or make a candle holder. Regulars will know that all our themes are completely open to interpretation - after all, it's YOUR Christmas, not ours. We only want to provide inspiration and motivation. And so I was delighted to come across a pot of candle gel that I'd bought from Lidl a couple of years ago and never did anything with. But I have now. I melted the gel and whipped it like mad to try and create bubbles in there, even though the instructions said "Pour carefully to prevent bubbles" - there still weren't enough for me though! So while it was still warm I sprinkled some chunky glitter and glitter stars onto it. Some of them sunk but It didn't matter because enough stayed on top to get the effect I was hoping for. And oh boy, you should smell it!! I poured some "Sugar and Spice" refresher oil into it and it smells good enough to eat. However, when I came to decorate it, I was wishing I'd used a different jar - I didn't achieve quite the look I had in my head, but I can't do anything about it so I have to love it as it is!! And in a week or so, I will add a match to it and pray it still smells as good as it does right now!

Wednesday, 25 November 2009

Hi bloggers! This is a midweek special from me - I saw the Promarkerschallenge this week and was immediately fired up! I haven't done Vintage for such a long time, and to my recollection, I've never tried to do vintage with a 'cute' stamp, but it really whet my appetite, and this is what I came up with. The colour choice this week is free and I stuck to the Browns using mainly Sandstone, Cocoa,plus various flesh tones.

Sunday, 22 November 2009

Phew, it's been a busy ol' week, very tense and quite emotional at times, and I thank God that I am so blessed to have my three wonderful guys to come home to at the end of the day! But it's another week gone now and another one closer to Christmas OMG, how close?? Just about 33 days, I believe, and I received my first Christmas card on Thursday! But you're going to have to wait a couple more weeks before I can show it off because it was from Vicki, one of the lovely guests we have helping us over at Winter Wonderland. The theme over there this week is to make something without using any Christmas images or Christmas dbg papers!! That was a challenge, but one I thoroughly enjoyed, and these are what I came up with:

Both of these were so incredibly simple. The wreath was made by cutting out a chipboard circle and then cutting out an inner ring then sticking the leaves on. It's so basic and simple that I shan't embarrass myself or insult you by giving a step-by-step guide! The second card was simply a computer generated text with a swirly stamp in the corner, a touch of bling and a splodge of glitter, Hey Presto, CAS!!!

Next up is this week's Promarkerschallenge. I haven't managed to play for weeks due to other stuff taking over my life, but I was determined to play this week and Oh my, what a challenge - the colours were Marsh Green and Burnt Umber. Well, they're not top of my colour combo fav's but I gave it a shot, and Hey, isn't that what a challenge is all about?

And finally for now it was my lovely friend Penny's birthday this week so I made her this Easel card. I bought the stamp a loooooong time ago when Penny first moved to the coast and never got round to using it, but I finally managed to do something with it this week and here's the result. I figured that as it was such a busy image and the bg paper is a bit, well, stripey, I didn't need to put a lot of 'extras' on it and decided to keep it 'un-fussy'!

Well that's my lot for now. I hope everyone is keeping safe and warm and these awful storms aren't giving you too much bother. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you leave with a smile on your face and maybe a little inspired! :o) xx

Tuesday, 17 November 2009

Hi fellow bloggers - I have been a baaad blogger lately. Lack of time is my only excuse - that and having to compete with Club Pengiun! My kids are nuts about this game and trying to get anywhere near the computer while they're playing that is a non-starter!

I love this time of year - the Christmas Production rehearsals are now in full swing and I love to watch the children giving their all as they belt out their lines, and there's been more than a couple of discrete chuckles enjoyed by the staff already!! I cannot wait to go and see "Nativity" at the cinema - judging by the trailer, it's an absolute must for anyone involved in School Christmas Productions!!! LOL!!

Anyway, a little late I know, but finally I get to blog my Creatalicious Challengecard. The challenge this month is to make something for Christmas, use lots of glitter and snowflakes. My card is another easel card; very popular at the moment, and once you've made one, you can understand why that is, they're great fun and really impressive! This one was especially quick to make because all the elements you see (apart from the snowflake) are from the K&Co Swell Noel collection. I have absolutely loved K&Co's Christmas papers this year, but these chipboard pieces have been a very welcome addition. The only trouble is, they're double sided so it seems such a shame to glue them down to card - they would probably look better as free-standing figures on a 3D display!

Anyway, that's my lot for today - hope it won't be long before I have something to blog again!

Sunday, 8 November 2009

I've treated the family to a freebie day out at Warwick Castle today! It was a special Teacher Taster weekend so I registered and went along. We had a fab time. Apparently they've re-branded themselves "The Ultimate Castle". I have to confess though, I was a little more than shocked when I saw the price increase from last year, plus an additional £7.50 pp if you wanted a tour of the dungeon! What used to be labelled "The Ghost Tower" has now been transformed into "The Princess Tower!" and it's all very pink and girly - not that my boys appreciated it one little bit!!!!! LOL!!

One of my forum buddy's, Lana, set us a weekend challenge with a sketch and after being inspired by a card design I spied on Magnolia-licious challenges blog, I came up with this:

It's a very quick and simple, but very effective design. You start with a sheet of cardstock, 11" x 5.5" plus an additional square of 5.5" - this will be the front of your card. Score the 11" x 5.5" piece at 2.5" and 5.5" and fold as shown below. Then stick the 5.5" square piece onto the folded down portion. You also need some kind of 'anchor' on the base to hold the card up - I used the sentiment as my anchor.

Over at Winter Wonderlandwe have a sketch this week with the optional addition of a Pantomime theme. I'm afraid I'm not much of a panto person so I just stuck with the sketch. We also have another giveaway from the wonderful Regina of The Cutting Cafe, so if you are needing to make a start, or just add to your Christmas Card stack, get over there, join in the fun and who knows, it could be you who walks away with that fabulous candy!!

Well if you made it in here, I'd like to thank you for passing through and I wish you a pleasant and safe week ahead! :o) xx

Friday, 6 November 2009

The first week back after half term is always quite tiring, but I am soooo glad that it's now Friday evening because I am exhausted!! Partly because I missed 3 precious hours sleep this week, but I'm not complaining because this was the reason why:

OMG, I saw Fleetwood Mac at the NIA in Birmingham!! They were incredibly amazing and I shan't go on and on about it and bore the ass off anyone, but I have to say that it was one of the most momentous occasions of my life! Stevie Nicks is every bit the Goddess and when I grow up I want to be just like her!! But getting back to reality with a big bump, here's something I made earlier! I loved it but it kind of pales after the previous pics

Sunday, 1 November 2009

One thing we've not had a lot of round these parts lately is rain! Until it happens, you forget how long it's been since the last time, and the truth is, I can't remember! And then this morning it came back... Oh boy, it's coming down in buckets this morning! What a lovely start to November.

This week's theme over at Winter Wonderlandis Jingle Bells and I used K&Co. Christmas Cheer papers and a cookie cutter to create this hanging decoration. And it really jingles too - see the little bells at the bottom! They are so sweet, but unfortunately they came in a bag of mixed sized bells and I've used up all the little ones on this banner.

So, if you're still waiting for inspiration to get started on your Christmas Cards, take yourself over to Winter Wonderland and have a look at the fantastic samples the girls have created for you. You might even get lucky and win Joey's amazing blog candy giveaway!!! Good Luck!